Athletic director won't say how much money raised

By Kyle Ringo, Buffzone.com

Posted:
05/12/2014 01:17:24 PM MDT

They poured champagne at the University of Colorado early Monday afternoon and toasted the groundbreaking of a $143 million athletics facilities project in and around Folsom Field that Chancellor Phil DiStefano called "long overdue."

Coach Mike MacIntyre's football program stands to gain the most from the project that includes new offices for every coach, a new weight room, locker room and indoor practice facility, a high performance sports center, thousands of square feet of academic space as well as numerous other amenities. MacIntyre was a good sport when a worker carrying a tray of full champagne glasses spilled them right next to him.

"It's like a Gatorade bath," he joked during a brief speech in which he praised school leaders and donors for following through on the promises made to him when he was hired in December 2012.

MacIntyre later jumped in a tractor in the northeast corner of Folsom Field that was used to remove a large piece of concrete as the ceremonial start to construction. He said he was recently asked by each of the other 11 Pac-12 head football coaches at the conference's spring meetings if the project was actually going to happen.

Every other Pac-12 team is either in the midst of facilities projects of their own or playing in recently upgraded facilities, which is one reason CU leaders were finally convinced to take a more aggressive approach. It was clear CU had fallen behind. The recent struggles of the program and inability to compete for recruits because of lackluster facilities were other driving forces.

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CU officials celebrated Monday despite the fact their fundraising efforts are still short of the $47.6 million (one-third of the total cost) originally required by the Board of Regents when they approved the project in December.

That approval came in a public session in Denver. The board modified the requirement in executive session at a recent meeting, which allowed the construction to start without reaching one-third of the total cost, Democrat regent Michael Carrigan said.

"The professional fundraisers tell us once we have the cranes there and we've broken ground, that will add momentum to the fundraising," Carrigan said. "So they came to us and we said, 'Yeah, that makes sense. Let's have this groundbreaking, let's have this celebration and let's get going on completing Folsom.'"

The completion date originally announced by the school also has been modified. Athletic director Rick George originally targeted August of 2015 to have the entire project done. On Monday he said it could take 16-18 months to complete, but he expects it to be done some time during the fall of 2015.

"I would like to finish by August, but I'm not going to put that as a deadline that we have to be finished by then," George said.

George did not reveal how much his team has raised to date, but he said he is confident his team will not only raise the one-third required but will raise well over that amount when new revenue streams the project is adding are up and running.

Why not be more transparent with how much money has been raised and how much is still needed?

"What I would say is everybody is fixated on a number that was thrown out when I was hired, one-third of the project, and while that number is important to go forward, basically with the sequence of the build the funding is right on par with the sequence of the build as we're building this facility," George said. "We've got to raise a lot more than $50 million for this project and we intend to do that. This process is going to go on for the next 16 to 18 months."

The first stage of the project started Monday and continues Tuesday as workers disconnect some of the electricity and begin removing seating from the north end zone area and the northeast corner of the stadium. George said those seating areas will be completed and ready for the 2014 season while the rest of the project continues.

George said another immediate emphasis is relocating the recycling center from just outside the northeast corner of the stadium to a temporary location on campus until a permanent home is determined, possibly near the Coors Events Center.

George said the project will be done in stages with the northeast corner addition being competed first. When it is done, those who currently work in the Dal Ward Center and other areas around the stadium will be able to move into their new offices while the Dal Ward Center in renovated and offices on the south end of the stadium are prepared to be rented as retail space.

The project will renovate parts of the Dal Ward Center and completely remodel other parts, including the addition of loge boxes and an End Zone Club overlooking the north end zone. Part of the renovation in the Dal Ward includes adding locker rooms and a weight room for sports that haven't had such amenities of their own in the past such as cross country, track and field, skiing, golf and tennis.

The project also includes a permanent indoor practice facility on the east side of the stadium and one full-size outdoor football practice field. The indoor facility will include a track for use by CU's track and field and cross country programs.

University of Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre poses for photos ceremony announcing that CU is proceeding with its $143 million athletics facilities expansion in and around Folsom Field despite not having raised one-third of the money as originally required by the Board of Regents at the Dal Ward Athletic Center. (MARK LEFFINGWELL / Daily Camera)

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